Bello says he asked UK for COVID-19 vaccines for Filipino nurses

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III found himself in hot water after asking Britain for COVID-19 vaccines in exchange for Filipino nurses.

According to Mariz Umali’s report on “24 Oras,” Bello made the request during a meeting after the United Kingdom asked to be exempted from the 5,000 deployment cap.

“I told the British Ambassador that I can make the recommendation. However, kako, if we are going to send our medical or health care workers, especially our nurses considering the high incidence of COVID in your country, it is best that the nurses or medical workers that we will be sending will or maybe pre-vaccinated,” he said.

“Before we even send them, you provide us with the vaccines so that they can be vaccinated,” he added.

Bello also told the British ambassador that they may provide more COVID-19 vaccines so other overseas Filipino workers going abroad may also be vaccinated against the illness, even those not going to the UK.

“Kung maluwag-luwag naman kayo kako, you can give us vaccines that will be used not only for the nurses but for all overseas Filipino workers,” Bello said.

“Mukha naman positive 'yung reaction,” he added.

British ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce, however, said they have no plans to link the vaccines to the conversations involving the recruitment of nurses.

“As you know, the United Kingdom has made a very emphatic commitment that any surplus vaccines that it may have as we go through the rollout of our own vaccine deployment plan, will be passed on to the WHO COVAX facility,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bello clarified that they did not make a deal.

“It’s just a precaution on our part na if we are going to deploy our nurses there, that they should be ano… they should be assured of their safety and health,” he said.

The senators have slammed him for his request.

“Bakit tayo umabot sa ganito?” Senate Minority Franklin Drilon said. “It’s a sign of desperation. Ganito na ba tayo ka-desperado?”

He said DOLE’s initiative is “a wrong policy and sets a bad precedent.”

“Our health care workers are not commodities they can trade off,” Drilon said.

“It is out of desperation that forced otherwise good people to be more creative in finding vaccines for their country. Theirs is a ‘kapit sa patalim move’,” Senator Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, said. 

On “Balitanghali,” Filipino Nurses United secretary general Jocelyn Andamo said health workers were not commodities the government could trade.

“Nadismaya po kami kasi parang ‘yong treatment po sa mga nurses at ibang health workers ay tila ba para kaming kalakal or commodities,” Andamo said.

“‘Yong pagpunta po ng nurses at ibang health workers abroad ay karapatan po nila ‘yon para makapagtrabaho po ng mas maayos dahil po dito sa ating bansa ay ‘di naman po sapat ang sahod so ‘di naman po natin kailangan pigilan,” she added.

“Samantalang naman po ‘yong pangangailangan natin sa bakuna ay dapat siguruhin ng ating pamahalaan,” Andamo said. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BM, GMA News